Spirit Never Dies
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Death is never the end. Rather, is the beginning. The beginning of so much more. Because the spirit never dies. It lives on forever, never giving up, never giving in. Rising from the fire of a damned soul; Uzumaki Naruto rises from the grave, hellbent on exacting revenge on those who've wronged him in the past, and creating a new village. Never count a dead last out! Narutoxharem!


**A/N: Ouch! A thousand times ouch! I nearly got set on fire today! Long story short, be CAREFUL with matches when you've got a few drunken buddies around. ****Second degree burns hurt like a BITCH! The worst part is I was SOBER when it happened! Grr! Anyway, my legs are going to be out of comission for awhile, at least until they heal. And , only I would get the idea for a story like this while recovering from something like that. For now, enjoy...**

**...the death of Uzumaki Naruto.**

_"Humanity. So weak. So very...fragile."_

_~Kurama._

**Prologue: Death of a Shinobi**

My senses burn.

Heat.

Agony.

Pain.

_Flame._

I am dragged forward by my captors, hands bound, legs shackled. My feet drag in the dirt, my ankles cry out with each excruciating step. And still, I am ushered onward. To my demise. They lead me into the plaza and the populace roars. Not in joy. Nor in adulation. Hatred is their tune, assailing my ears with oaths and obscenities. These people_-my people!-_cry out in hatred, baying for my blood. Stones strike me, dashing against my face; tearing into my left eye, blackening my world.

I cry out, my voice too hoarse to scream.

They do not care.

Someone laughs, I know not whom. The guards force me onward to my destination.

My friends are powerless to help me here. Nor can the hokage. Not with the streets themselves demanding my death. Were it her will, I would be congratulated. Applauded. Instead I am treated like an outcast. Scumm in every sense of the word. If I had but the strength I would prove otherwise. Instead I find myself standing before a podium, before a member of Konoha's Civilian Council as he mounts the stand to read announce my verdict. He is judge, jury, and most likely, my executioner.

His is old, this man. His prime long since passed him by. His body his arm, and most of his face, wrapped in gauze and bandage, relying upon a cane for support. With his good arm he unfurls a scroll. The crowd falls to his words, falls silent. I recognize this man. I have seen him once before, when I was very young, ignorant of politics and all the other ilk this world had to offer. I was told to stay away from him. Suddenly I find myself wishing I'd heeded those warnings.

The man's name is Danzo Shimura.

I know by the look in his single eye; this will not end well for me. Just as it will not end well for all those that dared support me, ero-sennin and baa-chan amongst them. I shudder to think what he might do to them, as I await my fate. I shiver, and pray for a miracle. Holding to the slim hope this might be just that; a dream. The monster within is less optimistic.

**"There will be no miracles today."**

But I can still dream, can't I?

"Uzumaki Naruto." His expression nochalant, the snake begins to read from the scroll, pinnioning me with his smug gaze. "For the crime of conspiracy against Konoha, for sedition and treason-

Lies! All of them lies! I have done none of these things! What proof have they that I committed these crimes! I open my mouth to protest...and howl instead as a powerful jolt courses through my bloodstream. Fire! Fire in my veins! In my head! It renders me powerless, helpless, reducing my already nonexistent chakra to , any word I might offer in my defense is promptly silenced by the collar strapped round my neck.

"You are hereby charged...

But they do not listen. They do not care. My words fall on deaf ears; because these fools refuse to listen. And even now, before he speaks them; the words, I know what he is going tosay.

...and sentenced to death."

My heart falls into my stomach.

And still, he drones on. And on. And on. He preaches of my wrongdoings, how, by my death, the village will be freed of the curse that is the Kyuubi. The nine-tailed fox which dwells within me. That it was only a matter of time before the demon broke free. He continues to lie, to pervert the truth, and those lies are in turn eagerly devoured by the populace.

The crowd buzzes like a swarm now; a hive of angry bees, satisfied by nothing less than my demise.

Sometimes amid the cacophony of rage comes a voice. A scream. It is the scream of the victim. Of the hurt. Of the worthy. _The worthy._ What does that mean? How is one rage more worthy than another? How can one pain...be more worthy of retribution? I laugh; it is a sad, bitter chuckle. Devoid of anything but hope. I can no longer see them now, the one who screams for the others to stop: _stop hitting him stop hurting him please oh please just stop stop stop STOP._

"Demon!"

_Stop._

"How dare you hurt Sasuke-kun!"

_Please._

"Guilty!"

_Don't do this._

"Burn him!"

_Remember all he's done for you._

"Make him suffer!"

They tie me to the stake, secure my hands and feet to the wood. Belatedly, I see the hay and the wheat and the wood and only then do I realize what they intend to do. They intended to burn me at the stake. A painful way to go. A fitting end, for a demon. But I am not a demon. Never have been. Never will be. Of course, these fools fail to realize that. Fail to understand. Just because I'm a demon container. Just because I've got this this...thing inside me, does that mark me? Does it make me fit for death? In their eyes, it does.

"May you rot in hell, monster!"

They've doused me in oil now. It seeps into my cuts, igniting my skin with fresh pain.

"Youkai!"

Time seems to slow as another lowers to the torch to my flesh. I've just enough time to take in the last of my surroundings; the baleful glares, punctured by a smattering of different expressions. Some are sympathetic, kindly, even. Others tear-stricken. Still others, filled with fury, perhaps at themselves, perhaps at the injustice of my demise. These are my friends. My family. They want to do something, but their own powerlessness is like a noose around their necks; their fear and hesitation preventing them from acting on their desires.

**"Humans."** The beast within my belly scoffs, full of disdain. **"So weak. So very...fragile."**

_'I'll miss you too, stupid fox.'_

**"Shut up!"**

I can't help it. I smile. It is not a sane thing, that smile.

And as I smile, my body begins to burn.

_Slowly._

Noww, I'm burning. Me. Uzumaki Naruto. Konoha's number one knuckleheaded ninja. My crime? Retrieving a saddistic, power obsessed prick. Did I mention he's an Uchiha? That I once called him friend? He used to be my rival. My reason to strive, to better myself in the eyes of my peers. To make myself something more. Now, I've saved him, prevented him from taking the path to power. Now, I'm trash. Cast aside. As though I am nothing. Nothing at all. I will not die in this place. I refuse to die in this place.

If I am not welcome in this village, then I will create one. My own village. A place where my kind is both welcome and accepted. A village for demons. Those who join us will flourish. Those who dare to oppose us will be eradiacted. I will gather allies from the opressed, the downtrodden, others like myself. Even as I consider this, an idea pierces the veil of agony shrouding my mind. A name. _Ayakashi no sato._ A fittting title for a village given my incredibly _lucid _state of mind wouldn't you agree?

**"That's...actually not a bad idea." **And just when I thought I was alone in my torment!** "You'd gather my kind, under one banner?" **For a brief moment, the fire fades, I am alone with myself and my thoughts as I consider the answer to his question. All the jinchuuriki, under one rule? A mighty force. One to be reckoned with. Supplied by those willing to serve, to seek retribution? Ideas were flowing through him now, coalescing starting to make sense. He'd never taken the time to really think about them before, the other jinchuuriki. Or maybe his perception of himself had been blocked. His true self.

Such blockage could be removed by all kinds of things, he realized. Drugs, diet, environment...

An emotional crisis.

_'Something like that, yeah.'_

**"I like it."**

_'Oh, so _now_ we agree on something. As I'm about to die!'_

**"Then I won't let you die."**

_'Huh?'_

But he's fallen silent, and there is only the burning. I try to breathe, and the fire pours down my throat, scalding my lungs. In the end I simply hang there, hair falling from my head, skin melting from my bones, bones cracking beneath the heat of the blaze. And still, I do not die. My body burns. My skin smolders. The crowd awaits below, eagerly anticipating my last breath. I do not intend to give them that satisfaction. Not yet. Poor fools. Poor, twisted little ingrates. Their sick little game's about to come to and end, and they're none the wiser for it.

_I remember now._

How the searing pain of the flames eases after a while. I'm too angry to feel much pain. Its not the flames that tear at me. Not now. Its the idea that I've been betrayed. By my people whom I'd faithfully served since I could walk. My friends. My family. The ones whom I'd loved for so long. But most of my hatred is not directed at them. It is my own self I rage at. My anger. My helplessness. My powerlessness. My rage burns like a fire hot and implacable. I will not die here. The fire can burn my bones, it may swallow my skin, might consume my flesh but it will _never_ have my soul. Never. So long as I have my soul, I will live on. I will have justice.

I _will_ have retribution.

And with that, Uzumaki Naruto opened his mouth and surrendered his spirit.

**A/N: Alright, alright, hold the gunfire! This wouldn't be very much of a story with Naruto dead now, would it? But he has died, in a boy inside of him simply ceases to be. Will there be shinigami in this fic? Arrancar? Good question. Any guesses as to who was begging the Council not to kill Naruto? You just might be surprised. Anyone else care to guess when this takes place? I'm being very subtle with the hints, but I think that much is obvious, given Naruto's train of thought. Look forward to another unique experience, ya know!**

**R&R! =D **


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